Guardians of the Galaxy will feature Thanos and connections to Avengers 3

After a quiet spell, the talk of Thanos is about to heat up once again. After the closing credits tease in THE AVENGERS, many thought that we would be seeing the purple guy as the nemesis for what became AGE OF ULTRON. But, with Kevin Feige and Marvel having their future plotted through 2028, it seems that the plan is to save Thanos for a future film, but one that may be sooner rather than later.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY director James Gunn shared information about whether or not Thanos will be making an appearance in his scifi superhero film due later this summer.

Gunn calls Thanos, who is only a small part of the film, “the head of the snake,” confirming he’s in the movie by saying that he’ll be depicted in motion capture. What’s curious is that Gunn also illustrates the pervading notion that this story is happening in the background of the Marvel universe by noting, “We’re definitely connected to AVENGERS 3.”

It seemed a foregone conclusion that the events of THE AVENGERS would be directly connected to the overall cinematic universe, but that is a long wait to build up the character. I like the fact he will be teased again in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, especially since CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER has re-introduced Hydra as the big villain for the next phase of the Marvel films.

Who will be portraying Thanos via motion capture or voice is still a mystery as is whether we will even hear Thanos speak. Maybe Nathon Fillion’s recent hint that he may or may not make an appearance in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY hints at something more menacing.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY hits theaters August 1, 2014.